February 8, 2021 – Washington Co., WI – The name of the suspect involved in the brutal killing of two men on Forest View Road in Kewaskum will be released this week according to Washington County Sheriff Martin Schulteis.
The Sheriff’s Department is working in cooperation with the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation.
Schulteis said there are currently two investigations. “One is the independent use of force investigation and then our investigation for the victims in Washington County,” Schulteis said.
“Our next step is to go back in time in blocks of 24 hours; 24, 48, 72 hours and the suspect’s past couple of days to find out his mindset, motivation, mental status, drug history and trying to determine what the community wants to know and that’s the ‘Why’ part of it.”
The Sheriff said once those details are solidified then they will release the information to the community. “I hope when we do the pre-incident timetable, we can answer some questions for the victim’s families specifically,” he said. “I don’t know if that will be the case but we will do our best.”
According to the Sheriff the suspect’s name will formally be released.
“Our department has had prior contact with the suspect, he is from the City of West Bend, however his release had nothing to do with jail operations. He was incarcerated with us previously, but I don’t think it was our case,” said Schulteis.
Questioned about the deputy shooting and killing the suspect, Schulteis said he has no doubt the deputy did the right thing. “The suspect didn’t have a choice in the matter and I’m thoroughly convinced if the deputy had not acted the suspect would have just gone to the next house and broke in and potentially hurt more citizens,” he said.
According to the Sheriff the tragic events began on Wednesday afternoon around 2:30 p.m. when a 30-year-old City of West Bend man stole a car in the City of West Bend. At around 2:45 p.m. the suspect crashed the car on Forest View Road north of Ridge Road in the Town of Kewaskum after he failed to negotiate a curve which resulted in a roll-over accident. The suspect was able to self-extricate himself and forced entry into a nearby unoccupied residence.
At the same time, a 52-year-old Port Washington women came upon the accident and pulled over to check to see if anyone needed assistance. She encountered the suspect who physically assaulted her and attempted to take her car. The suspect crashed that car while leaving the driveway.
The suspect then ran to another nearby residence in the 8100 block of Forest View Road. At 2:50 p.m. he forced entry into the locked front door of the home and encountered the homeowners. He demanded and obtained their car keys. He attempted to drive away but was not able to get the car started.
He came back into the residence and physically assaulted the elderly couple. The suspect once again exited the home in an attempt to steal the car. The male homeowner retrieved a handgun for protection. Tragically, the suspect was able to overpower the victim and took control of the gun.
He then fatally shot the 72-year-old male homeowner. The suspect then attempted to shoot the wife but the firearm did not fire.
The suspect then fled on foot to another residence in the 8200 block of Forest View Road where he encountered another resident. The suspect obtained a shotgun in the home and fatally shot the 77-year-old male resident just outside his garage. The suspect then fled the residence. This homicide was unwitnessed. All of the victims throughout this incident were random and unknown to the suspect.
“They didn’t know initially if the families were targeted and we don’t believe that was the case at all but what motivated him because he was not being chased by police in the stolen vehicle and why was he driving so reckless that he lost control,” said Schulteis.
One factor, completely unrelated to the case, but affected response time was a jackknifed semi.
“It made the logistics of responding very challenging because it was literally right in the middle of the crime scene, which delayed the response of getting our personnel where we needed to be,” Schulteis said.
A couple of side notes to the investigation:
- The incident happened Wednesday afternoon, February 3 however authorities were on the scene investigating with the coroner until early Thursday morning, Feb. 4. A declaration of death for one of the victims is listed as February 4.
- The suspect is 30 years old and from West Bend.
- The door to the home belonging to Ray Engelking and his wife was locked. “He kicked in one of the locked doors,” said Schulteis. “It wasn’t that he broke some glass and open it he kicked in the door.”
- There were two weapons used including the one involved in the initial shooting death. “We’re not exactly sure what happened at the second house but it ultimately appears the homeowner was shot and the suspect had a weapon that came from that address,” said Schulteis.
- The deputy involved in the shooting has been placed on administrative leave. Schulteis said that is part of the department’s “best practice.”
- DCI will come up with its investigation and the Sheriff’s will review it. The deputy will be off until that time comes.
- The initial call to the Sheriff’s Department came from the home of the Engelkings.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation continues leading the investigation into the officer-involved shooting by conducting an independent investigation into the death of the suspect in accordance with state law.